Police investigate cold-case murder at second home

GREAT BEND TOWNSHIP, SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY (WOLF) -- Police say there's now a $5,000 reward for information leading to a man's killer.

He was found shot to death in an upstairs bedroom at his second home near the New York border in November, police said. The victim's wife says she has been trying to make the murder public for months now.

Last year around Thanksgiving, state police say they found Calvin Fichter, 64, dead inside his home on Cal's Way, and he'd been shot three times in the head and neck.

Police say there was no forced entry and his handgun was missing after they arrived on Nov. 21 around 3 p.m.

"I had gone out of town with my son and his family and Cal was up to go bear hunting," says wife Kay Fichter via phone. "When we couldn't get in touch with him, I called the neighbor and he was the one that found him."

Cal lived full-time in Broomall, about 10 miles west of Philadelphia, and owned a garage in a nearby town, Clifton Heights. His wife says the business has been sold.

Police initially released information that Fichter had died, but the fact that it was ruled a homicide has not been known publicly until now.

"My concern was that there's a killer loose, and the people in northeast Pennsylvania need to know about it," says Kay Fichter. "Nothing was said other than the immediate neighbors. Nobody knew anything. So that's why I pushed to have it released."

"I hope that they can find out what happened soon and I'm sorry that that happened," says a neighbor home from college, Megan Geisler. "Hopefully, it gets figured out soon for him and his family."

Another neighbor described Mr. Fichter as a nice guy, saying he and his wife have been coming here just about every other week for more than 20 years. It was their getaway spot.

"He was a great guy, that's what he was like. Loved the woods, hunting, fishing, loved being in the woods," says Kay Fichter.

"I knew Cal casually to speak to. When he'd come up on the weekends, I'd say hi to him," says neighbor Bill Affeldt. "I did know that my other neighbor up on the hill, Marty, is the one that discovered the body."

Affeldt says the police came asking if they'd seen any strangers, so he had suspected Cal -- who'd once helped him fix an electrical problem on an old truck -- could be a murder victim.

"I wish they would turn them... you know, turn that information in, because to me, if somebody can kill once, they can certainly kill again, and it might be your husband next time," says Kay Fichter.

Anyone with information is asked to call PSP Gibson or PA Crimestoppers. The family has now added $3,000 to the $2,000 Crimestoppers reward, according to police Tpr. Mark Keyes.